Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fiber-reinforced plastic molded article containing a fiber base material and a matrix resin, and to a method for producing the same.
Description of the Related Art
A fiber-reinforced plastic is a composite of a fiber base material and a matrix resin, and has been known as a lightweight, high-strength, high-rigidity material. A molded article of the fiber-reinforced plastic (a fiber-reinforced plastic molded article, hereinafter referred to also as an FRP molded article) has recently been used in components of car bodies and airplanes.
For example, an FRP molded article having a so-called sandwich structure is proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2013-023184. In this FRP molded article, a fiber base material prepared by sandwiching a core component between a pair of surface components containing a reinforcement fiber fabric is used in view of improving the flexural properties such as flexural strength and flexural rigidity. The FRP molded article can be produced by an RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) method. In the RTM method, a product cavity corresponding to a shape of a desired FRP molded article is formed in a mold, the fiber base material is shaped in the product cavity, the fiber base material is impregnated with a liquid matrix resin, and the liquid matrix resin is hardened to obtain the FRP molded article.